If someone loves to talk about Biryani in West Bengal, one small town comes into competition with Kolkata. Yes, I am talking about Barrackpore- a city where people almost live and dream for Biryani. Numerous biryani outlets and mostly good ones. This is what signifies the city Barrackpore. and Dada Boudi biryani is the blue-eyed boy there. This blog post is a homage to the place.
We always come across a biryani war in fact a loving war. Few people always say, that Dada Boudi makes the best Biryani in Bengal and they swear by it. But the opponent team is equally strong. They can’t stand the mention of the brand. Let me be honest. I feel Dada Boudi Biryani (or any other biryani brand in Barrackpore) doesn’t make the typical Kolkata Biryani. Subtlety is not the strength there, and it’s far from the Awadhi counterpart. We can call this as the Barrackpore biryani.
Please check the location on Google map here
Few pointers
- Dada Boudi is not known for subtlety and you should not expect a mild-flavored dish there. A full-bodied, strong aromatic lust, is what is served there.
- There are multiple outlets of Dada Boudi Biryani around Barrackpore station. You can choose, where you want to visit. My personal favorite is the one with AC and a premium setting
- Car parking is a problem in the busy lanes of Barrackpore and you should consider the option of traveling by train
About Dada Boudi restaurant
As I said, there are multiple outlets of Dada Boudi Biryani around Barrackpore station. You can choose, where you want to visit. My personal favorite is the one with AC and a premium setting. In fact, there’s a lift for going up to the second floor and a rooftop setup is coming up. Once you go up, the first challenge will be to find a sitting, because the place is mostly filled up and brimming with a lot of happy customers. There is a minor price difference between this AC’d outlet and the regular one and hence, I personally prefer this comfort.
Always once I go, I prefer to take somebody along with me, and believe me, that’s not for love or anything else. It’s purely for the reason that, then I can order one special mutton biryani and share it, along with some kebabs. Okay, I know that I shouldn’t order anything apart from the biryani at Dada Boudi Biryani, but I am a sucker for kebabs- can’t help. The biryani quantity is massive and with one piece of meat, can easily be shared by two moderate eaters. And again I should restate, this biryani is not subtle. It’s very oily and quite spicy (not sure, whether it’s ginger or green chilly) and I personally like that. The cut of the meat is quite fatty and is of fantastic quality. Somebody looking for a diet biryani (and fine service experience) can give this place a miss. But for a sinner like me, this biryani is pure lust.
Dada Boudi Biryani actually started off as the Dada Boudi Bhater Hotel around 60 years back. Ramprasad Saha was a sattoo shop owner and started a modest eatery. His son Dhiran Saha took forward the food business seriously serving regular everyday Bengali meals. His wife joined the business in due time and the duo was called as Dada-Boudi. Their sons Sanjib and Rajib Saha are running the business now, excelling in Biryani.
Abut the Dada Boudi factory
I know, I am going a bit overboard in praising the biryani here. But honestly, if some restaurant, located in suburbs, can sell around 16-17 handis of biryani a day, they should be praised. Please note, one handi consists of 200-250 plates of biryani. And this volume, I am talking of one outlet. So, when I asked them about their production unit, Sanjib da was kind enough to take me to their factory. And ladies and gentlemen, this was the first time, that I was witnessing a mass scale biryani production unit.
Md Kalim Khan joined his childhood friend Sanjib Saha in his family business in 1988 with his expertise in biryani making. And since then there’s no turning back. Kalim da takes care of the production, wherein Saha brothers take care of running the entire business.
It’s a huge industrial shade in Barrackpore and the entire area smells of that lovely aroma. The process is divided in perfect workflow and is headed by Kalim da. While meat and rice are cooked in a general gas oven, the final dum is given on woodfire heat. Kalim da is very very particular about the goat and cut of the meat for biryani. And let me reinstate, they take 5-6 pcs from 1 kg of mutton. The potato is again almost 150 grams each.
Dada Boudi biryani is one of the landmarks of biryani in Bengal. Someone may like it or dislike it. But it’s practically impossible to ignore the place. And if someone likes the oily, rich-in-taste biryani, this is the mecca. they do have multiple outlets in Barrackpore and one in Sodepur. And I was told, they are in an expansion mode. However, do let me know if you’ve tasted it and what’s your take on that…
Bon appetite!
I can be reached at indrajit.lahiri@ymail.com
1 comment
With every few hundred kilometers of distance, the “concept of Biriyani” changes drastically. It may be due to availability of local ingredients, may be in accordance to local palate or may be due to technical differences. I personally believe that the difference between typical kolkata Biriyani and Dada-boudi Biriyani (or other famous Biriyanis of North 24 Pargana) is due to local demand. North 24 Parganas do have a significant amount of bangals/people who have migrated from Bangladesh. And they generally do prefer a bit spicy food in general (including Biriyani) rather than subtle aromatic Biriyani. Theses Biriyanis joints outside Kolkata started small, they didn’t have dedicated Biriyani lover customers to begin with, so to continue their business, they had to adapt according to local taste buds.
Whatever may be the reason, these are really tasty, and at the end of the day, it is the taste what really matters.